WHILE JUST about everyone between the ages of three and 40 has visited Alton Towers at some point, very few people can actually point out exactly where in the country this adrenalin-fuelled amusement park is located. For your information, it’s based north of the village of Alton in Staffordshire (approximately sixteen miles east of Stoke-on-Trent), at a comfortable two hours drive from Manchester. It’s not the location which earned the theme park its 2.4 million visitors in 2007 however; the reason for Alton Towers’ immense popularity can only be the large variety of exhilaration-inducing roller coasters it houses, keeping Britain’s thrill-seekers coming back repeatedly for more.
Alton Towers boasts an innovative selection of roller coasters, being home to the world’s first inverted one, Nemesis, the first vertical-drop coaster, Oblivion, the first B&M (Bolliger and Mabillard) flying roller coaster, Air, and the first coaster to invert multiple times, Corkscrew. This year sees the opening of the new pirate-themed area, Mutiny Bay, featuring the frankly irritating boat ride Battle Galleons, in which customers ‘sail around’ in battle ships which are highly exposed to the water pistols (ahem, cannons) located on the dock. If you appreciate having paid for the privilege to be drenched to the skin and then charged an extra £2 to use the awaiting heated cabins to dry off, then this ride is definitely for you.
As for the other rides, for the most part they’re incredibly exciting and queues can be avoided by visiting at off-peak times. They are however over remarkably quickly (think ten seconds). And while suspended face-down in a coaster which accelerates to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, one can’t help wondering if any of the Towers’ electrifying equipment has ever malfunctioned or caused injury. Future visitors may be interested to know that less than two years ago three people were taken to hospital while scores more were treated for minor injuries following a crash on the park’s Runaway Mine Train. A “safe and fun experience”? A fun one, in any case…
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